Hawaii College Disability Services: Transitioning From an IEP

Your child's IEP does not transfer to college. This is the single most consequential fact that families of college-bound students with disabilities need to internalize before graduation day. The IEP is a K-12 document governed by IDEA. Higher education operates under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act — different laws with fundamentally different obligations.

In high school, the school is responsible for identifying the disability, designing accommodations, and ensuring they are implemented. In college, the student is responsible for disclosing the disability, requesting accommodations, and providing documentation. The institution has no obligation to seek out students who need support. If your child does not self-identify and register with the disability services office, they will receive no accommodations.

How College Accommodations Work

Every University of Hawaii campus and Hawaii community college maintains a disability services office. The student must register with that office, submit documentation of their disability, and work with a coordinator to determine reasonable accommodations.

Reasonable accommodations in college typically include extended test time, note-taking assistance, alternative format materials, priority registration, and reduced course loads. What they do not include are the curriculum modifications that were available on a Certificate of Completion track — simplified assignments, modified grading, or individualized instruction in core content.

The accommodation determination process is interactive. The disability services coordinator reviews documentation, discusses the student's functional limitations, and identifies accommodations that provide equal access without fundamentally altering academic requirements. Accommodations that worked in high school may or may not transfer to the college setting.

The KOKUA Program at UH Manoa

The KOKUA Program is the disability services office at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It provides academic accommodations, assistive technology access, and support services for students with documented disabilities. KOKUA is one of the most established disability services offices in the UH system and handles a wide range of disabilities — learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, and chronic health conditions.

To register with KOKUA, the student submits documentation of their disability (typically the Summary of Performance from high school, along with any clinical evaluations) and completes an intake meeting. The office then issues an accommodation letter that the student shares with each professor at the start of every semester.

Other UH campuses — UH Hilo, UH West Oahu, and the community colleges — have their own disability services offices. The registration process is similar, though staffing levels and available supports vary. Smaller campuses may have one coordinator handling all disability accommodations, while KOKUA at Manoa has a dedicated team.

What Documentation to Bring

The Summary of Performance (SOP) that the school provides at exit is designed to serve as the bridge document between K-12 and postsecondary settings. A strong SOP includes current evaluation data, a description of functional limitations, and specific accommodation recommendations.

In practice, many SOPs are too vague to support a college accommodation request. If the SOP says "student benefits from accommodations" without specifying which ones or documenting the underlying functional limitations, the college disability office may request additional documentation — recent psychoeducational evaluations, clinical assessments, or medical records.

If your child is approaching school exit and planning for college, ask the IEP team to include detailed, current evaluations in the SOP. Push back against boilerplate language. The more specific the documentation, the smoother the college registration process.

The Postsecondary Support Project

For students with more significant disabilities who want a college experience without pursuing a traditional degree program, the Center on Disability Studies at UH Manoa runs the Postsecondary Support Project (PSP). This program provides educational coaching, self-determination training, social skill development, and workforce preparation in an inclusive college environment.

PSP is not a degree-granting program. It is designed for young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities who benefit from the college experience — the social environment, the independence, the exposure to new ideas — while working toward employment and community integration goals that align with their DVR Individualized Plan for Employment.

Preparing During High School

The transition to college accommodations should not begin on the first day of classes. Start during high school:

• Have the student practice self-advocacy skills — requesting their own accommodations, explaining their needs to teachers
• Visit the disability services office at the target campus before enrollment
• Submit documentation during the summer before the first semester
• Build the college transition into the IEP's postsecondary goals starting at age 16

The Hawaii IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide covers the IEP-to-college transition in detail, including a documentation checklist and a timeline for connecting with campus disability services before enrollment.

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